Supplier News
Philippines – PAGCOR recycles for schools
By Lewis - 8 October 2013
In a bizarre claim to fame, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has announced that it is the first casino operator in the world to utilise discarded slot machine parts to produce functional school desks. By recycling old slot machine stands, PAGCOR was able to donate a total of 1,160 desks to 19 public schools in Manila.
Maricar Bautista, PAGCOR’s assistant vice president for corporate communications, said the company has been donating fabricated desks since 2010 to help ease classroom furniture shortage in public schools. “We collect the old wooden stands of our slot machines from our Casino Filipino branches in Metro Manila and they are brought to PAGCOR’s Imus warehouse in Cavite for fabrication.”
PAGCOR said the two- or three-seater fabricated desks cost about P600 each, much cheaper compared to commercially-sold school chairs, which range from P2,000 to P2,500 per unit. Teachers from beneficiary schools said the fabricated desks, which are sturdier and stable, fared better than their old plastic furniture.
“This is another testament to Filipino ingenuity. As we often say, only in the Philippines can we find such a unique idea,” said Ms. Bautista. A claim no one is likely to dispute.
